Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 410.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 103,805 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Linde were worth $54,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.11.

Linde Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $460.33 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $451.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $447.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $216.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.